Handbag frame and element thereof



Nov; 25, 1958 s. s. MERK HANDBAG FRAME AND ELEMENT THEREOF Filed March 18, 1957 INVENTOR 920245.)? 4756* BY 0 z AfiORNEY United States Patent 2,861,616 HANDBAG FRAME AND ELEMENT THEREOF George S. Merk, Flushing, N. Y.

Application March 18, 1957, Serial No. 646,898

1 Claim. (Cl. 150-29 A critical item in the manufacture of a handbag is the frame which down through the years has been manufactured in veritable myriad forms. The problem, however, remains of producing a frame which at the same time enables the simple securement thereto of the material of which the bag is made and yet avoids unsightly bulging or other unpleasing effects.

It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a handbag frame element and handbag frame which will enable the simple and economical assembly of a handbag of esthetically pleasing appearance.

The above and other objects of the present invention are achieved in the preferred form by assembling two U- shaped handbag elements pivotally connected at their open ends, one of the elements being generally of a J- shaped cross section, the bottom portion providing, in effect, a U-shaped member in which cloth or other material may be secured, and the head or top wall portion of the J providing a flange projecting on either side of the longer of the two legs of the U-shaped section, to provide normally extending flanges on either side thereof, the outside flange being dimensioned to overlie the shorter of the two legs when the same is closed about cloth or other bag material, and the inside flange being dimensioned to overlie the other frame element when the same is pivoted to a closed position, thus presenting to a side viewer of such a bag only the head or top wall portion of said first frame element, i. e. a flat or rounded bar, the second element being nested within the first. The cloth or other material portions in the neighborhood of the frame are likewise hidden from view. If the frame extends the entire side length of the bag then, of course, the side viewer sees only the head or top wall portion of the frame. In this fashion a thin bag of a very neat and pleasing appearance may be made. Of course the frame need not extend along the entire sides of the bag, in which event the thin nature of the bag may still be preserved, and the bag still present a neat appearance.

Other'objects and a fuller understanding of the present invention may be had by referring to the following description and claim, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, it being understood that the foregoing statement of the objects of said invention and the brief summary thereof are intended to generally explain the same without limiting it in any manner.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bag frame made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view in elevation of a bag frame and the body for the bag in position prior to assembly.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view in elevation of portions of the confronting frame members and the material of the handbag body in the course of assembly.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2 but showing the material of the handbag being inserted therein. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 2, but showing the material of the handbag being inserted thereinJ Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a view in elevation of an assembled handbag, portions thereof being broken away and shown in section to more fully disclose the construction.

Referring to the drawing, the preferred embodiment there shown comprises a pair of U-shaped frame members 10 and 11, each having at their free ends an apertured ear 12, the same being pivotally connected by rivets 13 passing through said apertures, spacer sleeves 14 maintaining said ears a predetermined distance apart. Frame member 10 has a continuous cross section in the shape of the letter J consisting of a central or body portion 15, which forms the longer leg of the U-shaped portion of which strip 16 forms the other leg. The head or top wall portion 17 thereof comprises a normally extending flange 18 which is then inverted upon itself to form flange 19 extending normally to body portion 15 but above the opposite side thereof.

Frame member 11 may be a channel member of U- shaped cross section, the outer leg portion 20 being shorter than the inner leg portion 21, since when material is clamped therein it will extend over leg portion 20, the difierence in height being intended to make allowance for the thickness of the material of which the bag is made.

Metal loops 22 may be secured to top wall portion 17 of frame member 10 to serve as engaging means for the handle and a latch member 23 may act as part of the closure means.

The frame members are assembled in conventional fashion, it being understood that if desired strip 16 of frame member 10 may be slit at the portions where said frame member is bent longitudinally to facilitate such bending. The body 24 of the handbag may have side tabs 25 and 26 and top tabs 27 and 28, which are shown best in Figs. 3 and 4, cooperate with portions of the frame to enable the afiixation of the body to the frame. Thus top tab 28 may be inserted within the U-shaped channel formed by central portion 15 of frame member 10 and strip 16 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and strip 16 may then be displaced toward central portion 15 to clamp said tab into place in the position shown in Fig. 7.

Similarly, tab 26 and the corresponding oppositely disposed tab not shown may be engaged within the side legs of frame member 10. So also may tabs 25 and 27 be clamped within the inner and outer leg portions 21 and 21) of frame member 11.

It will be noted that the substantial assembly of the handbag body 24 to frame members it) and 11 is completed merely by the clamping process described. When the simple assembly step is taken the bag then presents, upon closure, the neat appearance from the side shown in Fig. 7, wherein top wall portion 17 of frame member 10 is'all that is seen, both frame member 11 and the upper portionsof the handbag body 24 lying within flanges 18 and 19 of said top wall portion.

Although the invention has been described herein with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous additional changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without transcending the scope of the invention as hereafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

A handbag frame comprising a pair of first and second U-shaped elements pivotally connected at the free ends of such members, said first element comprising a member of 'U-shaped cross-section, the side leg thereof opposing said second element being longer than the other side leg of said first element, a head atop said longer leg normally extending on either side thereof to provide a pair of first and second oppositely extending flanges, said secend element being dimensioned to nest Within the L of said longer side leg and the proximate flange thereof when elements are pivoted to a closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,701,300 Glieberman Feb. 5, 1929 2,004,185 Blacher June 11, 1935 2,045,642 Goerdes June 30, 1936 2,045,650 Hiering June 30, 1936 2,103,724 I-Iiering Dec. 28, 1937 

